Dead boy talking by Linda Strachan

The knife slipped into my body, a bright, sharp edge of death, a thief…

Publishers’ blurb

Josh has 25 minutes left to live.

Lying alone in a pool of blood, Josh has not much time to think. Yesterday he stabbed his best mate, and now it has happened to him.

But there are questions he cannot get out of his head. Like, how did he get into this mess? Will anyone find him in time? Will his girlfriend forgive him, and what really happened to his older brother?

As his life slips away, the events of the last 24 hours start to look very different.

I was absolutely thrilled to discover that Dead Boy Talking was selected for the Catalyst Long list 2011. It is a wonderful award and so well organised that it is great fun being part of it.

I just love that the young readers get so excited and involved in the process.

-Linda Strachan

Further information

4 comments on “Dead boy talking by Linda Strachan”

“Dead Boy Talking” follows the last 25 minutes of Josh’s life. He recalls the last couple of days, trying to remember how things got so bad, so quickly, and we instantly discover he stabbed his ex-best friend. “Dead Boy Talking” was exciting – better than Linda Strachan’s other book, and last year’s winner, “Spider”. However, with the rest of the fantastic longlisted books, I don’t think Linda Strachan will be the winner this year.

Like ‘Spider’ this novel has an interesting structure. ‘Dead Boy Talking’ deals with the reality of knife crime and has an ending that puts across a clear message about the consequences of carrying a knife. I thought this was better than last year’s winning novel. However, I feel there are stronger contenders for this year’s winning entry.

“Dead Boy talking” is a wonderfully brilliant book on the topic of knife crime, that follows the final 25 minutes of boy called Josh’s life. Whilst living in a pool of blood he gives us an insight into his last few days and how things got so bad and turned out the way they are. The introduction really pulls you in and makes you want to read more. I hope the book continues to liven up im the next few chapters

“Dead boy talking” was a fantastic read. It was a real page turner with some mile a minute action which drew me in and continued to make me read on. Linda Strachan describes the last couple of days in Josh’s life in great detail and description which gives gives you a real insight in to how things got so bad, so very quickly. I would highly recommend this book to all teenagers, it is definitely a ten out of ten read for intense breath taking scenes! Very good book 🙂